One of the most famous lines in the Star Wars series is also one of my least favorite. It is Yoda's reprimand of Luke Skywalker: “Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.”

Oh, Yoda, how wrong you are. Trying is vital. Literally. Our lives, our vitality, depend on us trying to achieve our goals, striving to realize our purpose. Even, and perhaps especially, when we don’t succeed.

The perfect cinematic counter-argument to Yoda is provided by Rocky, which came out in 1976, four years before audiences were introduced to the little green guru in Empire Strikes Back.

Rocky Balboa is a hero exactly because he never stops trying. Even though he loses the climactic boxing match in Rocky, the film - and audiences - treated this defeat as a footnote. For Rocky, whether he did or did not win the fight was of secondary importance. What mattered was that he tried really, really hard.

As characters, Balboa and Skywalker have similarities. Each of them is a talented young warrior mentored by an abrasive but caring mentor, and facing an adversary of superior strength. And yet, they represent fundamentally opposing philosophies.

Luke is the MVP of a team. His talent is a mystical Force, which he wields because it is his birthright. He fights because it is his destiny and everyone is counting on him. His motivation is external.

Rocky is an individual. His talent is a preternatural ability to take a beating. He fights because he has a fire in his belly that drives him forward and his soul demands it. His motivation is internal.

Luke, once he becomes a hero, largely stops growing as a character. He eventually becomes disillusioned and bitter, and goes into exile.

Rocky, however, undergoes a series of further transformations. Physically, he achieves his full potential in Rocky II, in which he achieves his goal of becoming world champion. But in Rocky III, his evolution is of a more spiritual nature.

At the beginning of Rocky III, we see that wealth and fame have disconnected Balboa from his spirit. He has stopped striving. As Apollo Creed tells him, Rocky has lost “the eye of the tiger.” When he faces Clubber Lang - an opponent motivated by envy and rage, whom a Jungian might say represents Rocky’s shadow - Rocky loses badly. To defeat Clubber, Rocky must shun the artifice and vanity of his life as a champion, and reconnect with his primal, warrior nature.

Ultimately, Rocky was able to recapture the eye of the tiger and emerge victorious. Luke … Well, Luke never tried.

In subsequent films, Rocky continues to mature, eventually becoming the aging mentor of Adonis Creed, a young fighter who embodies the “keep punching” philosophy for a new generation. Luke has a few cameos where he provides advice to the younger generation, but he never emerges as a valued guide the way Rocky does. In psychological terms, Rocky successfully demonstrates the “generativity vs. stagnation” level of development, while Luke does not.

As a society, we are where Rocky was in the beginning of Rocky III. We are on top. Complacent. Consumed by diversions, and disconnected from a sense of meaning or purpose. We have followed Yoda’s advice: we do, but we do not try. We are constantly busy, constantly working, clicking, or scrolling, but to what end? We surround ourselves with illusions and then wonder why we are confused and unfulfilled.

Luke Skywalker eventually became bitter and disillusioned. Rocky never did. The stories may be fictional, but the lesson is real: we need less doing like Luke, and more trying like Rocky.